The Chi: Season 6 Episode 11 – Review/ Recap

“The Chi” continues to bring in new characters, who seemingly will fit in well, as it pushes to develop its non-romantic relationships.

Plot Recap

Romance & Breaking Bread – Jemma, Britney, Marcus, Tierra, Kenya, Zay, Damien, Darnell, Jada, Emmett

Like Emmett, Darnell has multiple kids from different women, but unlike Emmett, Darnell wants to make a better effort to be in his kids’ lives. Enter Damien, Emmett’s brother, assumingly little brother, who seems very excited to be among his siblings. Sadly, the feeling isn’t mutual, and while Jada gets it, she isn’t 100% on Emmett’s side since she thinks Darnell’s heart is in the right place. But by asking Emmett to hook his brother up with a job, Darnell isn’t making this push for brotherly love easy.

Speaking of love, with Kenya not seeing anyone, she seems willing to give into Zay’s charms, despite knowing he works for Douda. But with him accepting she has a kid, pushing the idea he is cool-headed but doesn’t have a cold heart, she is smitten. Not to the point of doing what caused baby number one, but she does enjoy Zay’s game and what he is kicking.

Which brings us to Jemma. Things between her and Britney remain weird, but when she invites Tierra and her father, Marcus, over, and Britney shows up and is invited to sit down, both peep the chemistry. Marcus even makes it clear that just as he is opening up to the idea of his daughter finding an alternative to the college-to-job pipeline, he’s cool with her being gay. Which is appreciated and makes their relationship stronger, but she knows things with Britney are by no means solid enough to come out.

Gotta Be Careful With People’s Hearts – Jake, Tatiana, Ezekiel, Alonzo, Alicia, Rob, Papa, Shaad, Bakari, Jemma

With multiple people peeping what Britney and Jemma could have, as well as Jake, it complicates their relationship. But, what throws a few bullets at it is that Jake cheats with Kenya’s step-mom, Tatiana. He is upfront about it and pushes her to be honest about Britney, which she eventually does. This leaves them in this weird place where it seems Jake is offering an open relationship or maybe going their separate ways.

As that’s discussed, Ezekiel, Kenya’s dad, is presenting Papa the opportunity to be his assistant pastor full time, despite how his father and mom felt about Ezekiel and his church. Papa accepts and surely this could lead to issues as he is around Kenya more.

But, it may also cause problems for Bakari. Why? Without Mr. Jackson, Bakari seems to think his days are numbered with the way Papa’s mom talks to him. Papa says not to worry, but Bakari grew up in foster care and likely knows the signs. However, rather than pack his things, he writes in his journal as instructed by Professor Gardner – telling his story from the beginning.

Which brings us to Alonzo and Alicia. Victor isn’t seen this episode, but that doesn’t mean Alonzo isn’t putting in that work. For while Shaad might be the one sleeping with Alicia, Alonzo is Rob’s dad, potentially the one that got away, and Alonzo causes a bit of a storm as he brings up he is taking the case of Q’s murder. In fact, he was hoping to get Rob to testify, and it pisses Rob off for what he thought was Alonzo extending an olive branch was really him asking for a favor.

But in the end, if Alonzo wasn’t as ambitious and audacious, Alicia would have never fallen for him or have become repulsed by him.

Cast Guide

Character’s Name	Actor’s Name
Ezekiel	Daniel J. Watts
Tatiana	Cereyna Jade Bougouneau
Damien	Brett Gray
Jake	Michael Epps
Alonzo	Leon
Alicia	Lynn Whitfield
Rob	Iman Shumpert
Papa	Shamon Brown Jr.
Shaad	Jason Weaver
Bakari	Ahmad Nicholas Ferguson
Jemma	Judae’a
Britney	Amari Noelle Ferguson
Marcus	Joel Steingold
Tierra	Nia Jervier
Kenya	Kennedy Amaya
Zay	Aaron Guy
Darnell	Rolando Boyce
Jada	Yolonda Ross
Emmett	Jacob Latimore

Ezekiel

Ezekiel is the head pastor of New Hope on Zion, a church that preaches prosperity, especially for its pastor. Hence, the late Pastor Jackson was vehemently opposed to Ezekiel and how he ran his congregation.

• The actor is also known for their role in “Tina — The Tina Turner Musical.”

Tatiana

Tatiana is Ezekiel’s wife and step-mom to Kenya, who seemingly is with Ezekiel for financial security and not love.

Damien

Damien is one of Darnell’s kids, Emmett’s little brother, who has golden retriever energy.

• The actor is also known for their role in “On My Block.”

Review

Highlights

Building Up Non-Romantic Relationships

While Kiesha and Emmett remain one of the cutest couples, and we see some other relationships having their foundation laid down, the non-romantic relationships are the most noteworthy this episode. Whether it is Bakari and Papa and their brotherhood, Marcus and Tierra’s relationship with Jemma, Darnell trying to be a better father to all his kids, or even Ezekiel pouring into Papa, while it could be submitted that “The Chi” has a lot of characters, for the most part, it balances them well and by showing different facets of Chicago and its people, you’re given a staunch reminder that the city and its people aren’t a monolith.

Exploring Polyamory?

Though we say Black people, Chicago, and a lot of cultures aren’t monoliths, there are some commonalities. One of those things is that, when it comes to polyamory, unless someone is doing so unethically (aka being a player), it isn’t a thing. But, as we all know, what seemed uncommon before the internet now is revealed not to be as rare as people think.

Heck, I know two people who are perfectly fine with the idea, both women. So, I’m not sure what Jake and Jemma may do, since even with both revealing they cheated, neither seems to want to break up. And to note, they don’t have kids, don’t cohabitate, or need to, considering both have money, so it seems the question is, what will keep them together?

It seems that’s what is on Jake’s mind as he breaks Jemma out of the idea of someone being your person means that are yours, and yours alone, forever. After all, they are 18, and even though Jake flirts with trouble, he could live 60+ years, and he knows he is attractive and could not only pull women his age but married women like Tatiana – and he is expected to just be with Jemma?

I’m not trying to condone him being someone’s mistress, but the question really is, between Jake’s sexual interest and Jemma wanting to explore her sexuality, why should they limit themselves? If everyone is honest, communicates who they are with and what has been done, and gets regularly tested, what’s the problem?

Which, by the way, isn’t to say I’m capable of being in a polyamory relationship, but considering Jemma and Jake’s opportunities, you can understand it.

On The Fence

Damien

While it has been clear that “The Chi” has long divested in anyone too beyond 30, that doesn’t mean we need more 20-something characters. Right now, there is a careful balance here. One that, for Damien to excel, we may need something more than a nice kid who came out of nowhere.

But, with more than enough drama in his life, what can Damien bring? A reminder of extended family?

Background Information

Episode Title	Saints & Sinners
Release Date	May 24, 2024
Network	Paramount+
Director(s)	Malakai
Writer(s)	Racquel Callahan, Mia A. Brumfield
Previous Episode	Season 6/ Episode 10
Series Page	The Chi
Character Guide	N/A